Santa Barbara is a paradise; Disneyland is a paradise; the U.S. is a paradise. Paradise is just paradise. Mournful, monotonous, and superficial though it may be, it is paradise. There is no other. – Jean Baudrillard, America

As early as the 1900’s, the city of Santa Barbara promoted itself and its environs as an idyllic setting. From Pearl Chase’s visions of utopia to the widespread dissemination of the resort destination via the eponymous soap opera and into today’s promotions by the Chamber of Commerce and Conference & Visitors’ Bureau, Santa Barbara has consciously sold and established itself as a modern-day paradise.

CAF dares 12 local artists to take a bite out of the proverbial apple with an exhibition exploring the realities and ambiguities of living in such an Edenic location. Via the artists’ works, this exhibition will reveal the multi-faceted issues of the region, both embracing and critiquing our history, sociology, and current conditions.